Following a year characterized by increased public awareness of rampant police violence against citizens and the militarization of local law enforcement, a gun fetishist's game riding a "cops versus criminals" tagline feels slimy.

Not unexpectedly, Hardline doesn't want to interact with that discussion. Before you can even press a button, every time you load the game, you're met with loud, fast cuts of the EA and Visceral logos, then an explosion.

Battlefield Hardline releases tomorrow, March 17. If you're looking to get into the action on the latest installment in the FPS franchise, here are all the deals available as of writing.
PC gamers have two options. Just today...

I absolutely adored Titanfall, but going by the comments and blogs I've read over the past year, it seems like I'm the only person on Earth who did. Every article, news post, or blog written about the game invariably becomes a celebratory dance on its grave in the comments. While a lot of the ire is chalked up to hype backlash, a schadenfreude-rich reaction against all the positive preview coverage the game received pre-launch, I think it's safe to say the problems go deeper. Snarky comments are one thing, but it's hard to explain the empty servers, tepid response to updates, and lack of longevity without acknowledging that something about the game just didn't work.

Clearly Respawn messed up. Despite seeming like they had all the right elements to be the next big thing, Titanfall's mix of stompy robots and parkour commandos failed to light the world on fire. With the recent official announcement of the sequel, I've been wondering what they can do to win players back. Certainly going multi-platform is already a step in the right direction, but they'll have to make some big changes if they want to earn a real audience.

As a fan of the original, I have my own wishlist of features I would love to see in the sequel that just might help them put some more players in the cockpit of a Titan.

First-person shooters can feel pretty generic most of the time. You're handed your gun and objective and then proceed to shoot people that get in your way. You die, and start all over again.
The ones that really stand out, h...

Titanfall celebrates the first anniversary of its launch today. There might not be a grand showcase dedicated to everything that's happened to the game over the year, but EA and Respawn haven't forgotten about it altogether. They're quietly handing out gift bags to anyone who still wants to party.

All of Titanfall's add-ons across all three platforms -- Xbox One, Xbox 360, and PC -- have been made free. Users can simply queue up the season pass on their preferred system. It's currently unknown how long this freebie will last, so it's best to pick it up now instead of waiting.

Watch out, citizens of Los Angeles. There's a war on drugs in your city, and you just might end up as collateral damage. In Battlefield Hardline's take on the City of Angels, the forecast always calls for a fair chance of ra...

EA Access continues to prove itself worthy as Madden NFL 2015 has just been added to the current lineup of available games in the The Vault.
It's a shame Sony turned down this service. Despite their concerns, it appears to be providing plenty of value -- at least it would for me.

Another studio with a storied legacy has fallen under Electronic Arts. The Emeryville offices of Maxis, the force behind simulation games like The Sims, SimCity, and Spore, shut down today.
EA says it's "consolidating Maxis I...

"Own More and Be More" is EA's dystopian-toned tagline for its unveiling of Battlefield Hardline Premium. In addition to the £44.00/$59.99 price for the base game (£59.99/$69.99 for the "deluxe" version), you can slap down an additional £44.00/$59.99 to unlock exclusive things that should have been included anyway.

If you were planning on getting or trying out Battlefield Hardline and happen to have an Xbox One and EA Access, then your monthly payments are about to pay off. Well, kind of.
EA announced that EA Access members will be abl...

Times have never been so low for those of us who love basketball and the games the sport inspires. While the NBA2K series may appear to be good enough for the majority, there is a growing minority that has become fed up with ...

Chris Wynn, developer of the upcoming Mass Effect (not Mass Effect 4?), has more or less confirmed that the next installment will indeed have multiplayer.
Wynn posted on Twitter that the team is currently looking for an onlin...

Shadow Realms had a very cool idea going for it. The tabletop RPG-inspired, four versus one gameplay reminded me of board games like Descent or Level 7 [Omega Protocol]. The modern fantasy setting seemed like a nice break fro...

Battlefield Hardline is something different, and it appears as if gamers were interested enough to at least give it a shot. EA has not only delayed the game based on user feedback, but it's also ran multiple rounds of testing...

Video games are an interesting medium. On one side of the spectrum, you have hardcore gamers that thrive on a challenge and feast upon the complexities of any given title. And on the other, you have casuals that want to do no...